Just curious, where does everybody have their layout? Basement,
garage, living room, club, where? I used to have one in the basement
but ultimately I decided it was too dusty down there so I took it down.
I'm thinking of putting up another one in a spare bedroom I have. If
I didn't need the damn closet space I could use the whole room, but I
guess I'll have to settle for half...
Iarwain :
At present my railroad, such as it is, is in the attic,
which is actually a fairly pleasant place as the
months get colder.
Cordially yours,
Gerard P.
One is in my basement. It is a 22x12 unfinished. I had the builder install a
studwall and electrical outlets for me.
My other is the Kalamazoo Model Railroad Historical Society's layout. See
I have a stand-alone 700 sq. ft. building in the backyard for my
future layout, converted from a workshop the previous owner had built
for his custom knife business. It's empty at the moment as I have not
yet come up with a plan with which I am happy. I have not even worked on
any plans for over a year. :-{(
Have an O Gauge 245' wall/ shelf L layout in 2nd floor, only bedroom.
Has two main line loops of 75' each, 40' parking track, 10' Y, & 17',
8', 6' sidings... Track is Atlas O, 072 min diameter...to 099 dia.
Both main lines have down/up 5" grades too clear roof valley beam.
Layout has 15 turn outs.
All of my layouts since I got my first Lionel set at Christmas back in
1956 have been in basements. I'm in the room prep stage (which is
taking forever(!) for my ultimate "dream layout" in my current 22 by 38
foot basement.
"Paul - The CB&Q Guy"
(Modeling 1960's In HO.)
In a shed behind the house, on several pieces of paper and in my head. The
one in the shed is half built, the one on paper gets revised to reflect
reality, the one in my head is beautiful, operates perfectly and has sidings
that are longer. Bruce
I've had two in the secondary bedrooms. one N scale and 1 a 4x10 Ho scale
My last two in basements, a 12x25 Ho scale. too big for me.
I now have a 9 x 13 around the walls on 3 sides with a lift to get in the
middle average width 24-30 inches
Happy railroading and Happy thanksgiving from the U&I rr in Central NY!
As others have noted, the basement is fine...IF you finish it
properly first. My dad built a separate 10 x 15 room in one
corner of his basement. He just studded two walls to
create the room amd he painted the other 2 cement walls
(that seals the walls as a source of dust).
He also put in a ceiling which stopped dust from above.
Doing an actual separate room in the basement gives you a lot of
flexibility and eliminates all concerns regarding windows and
closet access.
Cheers and happy empire building.
Bill S.
Mine is in half of a 17'x27' finished basement. I have east facing
windows to let in plenty of sunshine. I can actually work on the
railroad without turning on any lights.
Tim Lange
West Lafayette, IN
(Go Boilers!)
iarwa> Just curious, where does everybody have their layout? Basement,
I should add.....if you do the basement room, you need to
also either epoxy paint the floor or put down some form
of tile or other covering to "seal" the cement floor.
Cheers again,
Bill
[...]
Sounds like the size of the space has got you bollixed, but good. Many
years ago, I helped a fellow design a layout in a 1800 sq. ft space: he
was so overwhelmed by the sheer possibilities that he couldn't make up
his mind what he wanted. That's the main problem with large spaces: they
make you feel you can do anything, which translates into having
difficulties limiting your plans.
(Re-)read John Armstrong on track planning: very inspirational. Will
also give you a method for deciding what you want your layout to be.
You don't need a "final plan", all you need is a good concept to guide
your building. By concept I mean: era and style of railroading, and
general arrangemnt of the mainline, location of yards/staging/towns,
plus a few designs standrads such as min. radius, max. grade, etc. You
can and IMO should design the details as you go. Most importantly, the
concept should allow for construction in stages, so that you can operate
trains within a year or less of starting construction. Otherwise, you'll
be tempted to fill your space with benchwork first, and you'll get
bogged down.
Meanwhile, build a nice little, um, "Holiday Village" layout for under
your, um, "Holiday Tree", just to keep your hand im, and besides kids of
all ages will love it.
HTH&GL
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